Las Estrellas
by SheWasFlying
Summary: The stars are beautiful, don't you think? How would you explain how they look to a blind person? Eight year old Raph tries. . . . Oneshot, centers on Raph. Rated for two minor bad words.


**A/N: **This is just a one shot I typed up a few weeks ago. Centers on Raph. Has no real point. . . enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own the TMNT! If I did, I wouldn't be writing fanfiction.

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**_Las Estrellas_**

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In the middle of Central Park, eight year old Raphael fingered the soft grass beneath him as he looked up into the night sky. The cool wind wrapped the ends of his mask around his neck, but he didn't notice. Brow furrowed in thought, he glowered. 

_Stupid brothers. _He thought furiously. _Always tellin' on me. . . ._

The day had started out nice enough. He had gotten up from bed fully rested, taken a warm shower, eaten a tasty breakfast (Spam wrapped up in fluffy pancakes with steaming scrambled eggs and ketchup) then had gone to vegetate on the couch while watching Saturday morning cartoons before the day's katas.

The Red Ranger (Raph's favorite Power Ranger) was just about to kick some butt ugly monster in the face when the TV suddenly changed to channel three.

"What the—" Raph had sat up from his favorite position (head on one arm rest, feet on the other) to see the baby of the family hooking the NES up to the TV. "What do you think you're doing?"

Mikey had looked up with those big, innocent, puppy-dog eyes of his and said he wanted to play Clu Clu Land. Would Raph like to play too?

No, Raph had not wanted to play. He had wanted to see the Power Rangers kick ass, and Mikey had come between him and his wish, and Raph was going to pound a certain someone to a pulp if that certain someone did not let him watch TV.

But Mikey hadn't given in; he just stuck out his tongue and threatened to tell Master Splinter that Raph was gonna hurt him. So Raph did what any big brother would do; he lashed out in anger. While the two were rolling on the ground, Mikey squealed for the Big Brother, the leader of the foursome, to please help him.

Leonardo, who was getting tired of constantly pulling the two apart, had grabbed Raph by the shoulder and pulled him off the dazed Mikey. Raph, never the one to let someone else get the last word, had shoved Leo. Leo had fallen backwards and --CRASH!— crashed into Splinter's favorite lamp. Don, who had been watching with an air of boredom from seeing the same thing almost every day, had gone to tell on Raph to Master Splinter. Then Master Splinter had come in, scolded them, then picked up Raph, turned him over his knee and—

Raph was glad that the grass was so soft; it lessened the soreness on his bottom.

"Stupid brothers_." _He repeated in his mind_. " _Stupid Mikey, stupid Leo, and stupid Donnie. . . ."

He glared up at the sky. The stars shone brightly, winking down at him, seeming to mock him.

"Stupid stars!" he said aloud. "I don't know why God put ya up there. You're so. . . so . . . ugly! Ha!"

The stars ignored him.

Grumbling under his breath, Raph got up to leave back to the lair. He had been out for quite a while, and knew that Master Splinter would get angrier at him if he stayed any longer.

A slight sniffle reached his ears.

Whipping around, he fell to his plastron and looked for the source of the sniffle. If any humans saw him, they would take him away and open him up like those scientists did to that alien in one of Mikey's favorite movies!

Another sniffle made Raph look off to his right; sitting under a tree, head bowed, was a little human girl.

Raph let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. It was just a kid! Kids couldn't do any harm, right?

The little girl sobbed and buried her face in her hands; her shoulders shook from her silent crying, making Raph's heart break. What could make a kid cry like that?

"I know you're back there."

Raph started. "Wha-?"

"I can hear you." The little girl turned.

A ray of moon light alighted her small body. Thin and fragile looking, she had smooth, chocolate colored skin. Her face was narrow, framed by wispy brown hair that cascaded to her thin shoulders. Her tear filled, taupe-ish colored eyes stared right at Raph, big and sorrowful looking.

"Please don't run away," the little girl continued when Raph didn't say anything. "Don't run away just 'cause I'm crying."

Raph gulped. Should he stay? Master Splinter would get pissed. The little girl could tell on Raph, and he would be taken away and would never see his family again. . . .

"Just ignore me, ok?" The girl pleaded. "Please stay? I'll try not to cry so loud."

"I wasn't gonna run away." Raph said defensively. "I was gonna _walk _away."

The little girl giggled. "Oh, ok. If you say so."

"I do say so. I'm not afraid of you!" His heart was racing. What if she told other humans about him? He was in big trouble! "_You're _probably more afraid of _me_ than _I_ am of _you_!"

The girl cocked her head to the side curiously. "Why would I be afraid of you?"

"Don't I look scary?" Raph held his arms out to the sides so she could get a good look at him.

A small, sad smile. "I am blind. I can't see you."

Raph let his arms fall to his sides, abashed. ". . . oh." He rubbed the back of his neck, hiding his blushing face. "S-sorry."

"It's ok." The little girl patted the grass next to her. "Wanna sit?"

Raph hesitated. Should he?

"Don't worry. I don't bite."

Before he knew it, Raph was getting comfy next to the small girl. The girl was smiling, facing him, but her eyes were staring right past his shoulder.

"Why were you crying?" Raph asked.

The girl bowed her head. "'cause the kids at the orphanage were pickin' on me."

Raph stared. "You're an orphan?"

"Yes. My mommy and daddy died 'cause they wouldn't give a bad guy their money. He shot them, and I was left alone. . . ." her voice cracked. "I. . . I miss them alot."

Raph looked away. Wow, poor girl! He didn't even want to begin to imagine what life would be like without Master Splinter.

"I'm sorry."

"Everybody is." The little girl picked up her cane from her side and tapped the ground absentmindedly with it. "They all say they're sorry and feel bad, but it just makes me feel worse. I already gots people feeling sorry for me 'casue I'm blind."

They sat in silence for a while, the girl tapping the ground with the old cane and Raph staring at nothing. Finally, Raph spoke up.

"How did you get blind?" he ventured.

"I was born this way, I think."

"Oh. . . . That's a nice cane."

"Thanks. My daddy bought it for me when he was alive."

"My brother has a bo staff, a lot like that cane."

The little girl frowned. "A bo staff? What's that?"

"It's a weapon we use when we practice fighting."

"Wow, you can fight?"

"'Course we can! Me and my brothers all learned ninjitsu from our dad."

"Cool! Like the Power Rangers!"

"Nah, we're a lot better than the Power Rangers."

With a sigh, the little girl brought her knees up to her chin and wrapped her arms around her legs. "I wish I had brothers."

Raph snorted. "No you don't. Brothers are stupid. Especially annoying baby brothers who whine and tell on you, and stupid big brothers who always side with the little brothers!"

The girl giggled. "So that's why you were saying 'stupid brothers' and 'stupid stars'."

"Yeah. Stupid brothers, and stupid ugly stars!" Raph shook his fists at the sky.

"I wish I could see the stars." The little girl said quietly.

Raph's fists stopped in mid shake; he slowly lowered his arms, feeling yet again abashed.

"The kids at the orphanage are always picking on me," she continued, "always saying how pretty things are and that I can't see 'em. They make me feel bad, and that's why I'm always crying, and then they pick on me 'cause of that. . . . What do they look like?" she said after a pause. "The stars. What do they look like?"

Raph scrunched up his face in thought. How to explain to a blind girl? "Well. . . they're not really ugly, like I said. I was just angry." When the girl just stared, not answering, he continued. "Um. . . they look small, like lots of 'em could fit in your hand like mini M&M's. They never stay still, kinda like my brother Mikey. They're always movin' around and glitterin' and winkin', and they're so high up. They look close, but they're not. Mikey says they're angel's eyes, but Donnie says they're balls of gas --I guess like the gas you fart, I don't know—then Leo says that maybe angel's eyes are made of balls of gas, so that they're both right. They only show themselves at night. Donnie says that they're out in the day too, but you can't see 'em 'cause the sun is too bright. So. . . that's it."

He looked at his new friend. The girl had a dreamy smile on her face, and was leaning toward Raph as if being closer would make the explanation better. "They sound pretty."

Raph shrugged. "Yeah, I guess."

"Maybe one day I'll be able to see." Her voice was full of false hope as she spoke. "And then I can see the stars. Maybe we can see them together?"

"Yeah." Raph smiled slightly "Maybe."

"You're really nice, you know."

Raph blushed. "Yeah, well, don't get used to it. I'm not always like this."

"Estrella!" a voice bellowed from the dark. "Estrella! Where the hell are you?"

The girl heaved a deep sigh. "There she is."

Raph got to a crouch, ready to run at the first sight of another human. "Who?"

"The girl who brought me to the park." She giggled again. "What did you think? That I came by myself?"

"Estrella! Get the fuck over here!"

Raph growled. "She shouldn't talk to you like that. If my brothers talked to me like that, I'd—"

Raph was cut off as Estrella grabbed him by the shoulders and planted a kiss on his cheek.

"Good bye, friend." She said softly. "It was nice talking to you. Keep looking at the stars, and enjoy them for me."

"I-I will." Raph breathed. "I'll enjoy them for you."

"Thanks." Estrella got to her feet, cane in hand, and felt her way to the woman calling her name.

Raph sat in the shadows, watching silently as the woman waited impatiently for his friend. Tossing a cigarette to the ground, the woman scolded Estrella for taking so long and led her away.

Raph got to his feet, and as he tenderly felt his cheeks where Estrella had kissed him, he glanced up at the stars. They seemed a lot brighter than before, and always put a smile on his face when he left the confinements of his home.

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**A/N:** P.S.: Estrella means star in spanish. . . . yuppers. 


End file.
